A New York City resident who shot and killed a mugger attempting to rob him has been charged with 25 counts following the incident. Charles Foehner, aged 65, was accused of keeping illegal firearms in his possession, including the one he allegedly used to shoot Cody Gonzalez, aged 32.
Video surveillance shows the incident, including the approach by Gonzalez and Foehner opening fire.
Foehner allegedly told law enforcement that he was carrying an illegal pistol due to the significant increase in crime in the city.
According to the office of the District Attorney, the alleged shooter said that he was “carrying a firearm because of the way the city has been for the last three years.”
“I read the crime stats and I see so much crime,” he said. “I had the pistol. I obtained it in a bar one night.”
Upon a search of Foehner’s home, law enforcement accused him of possessing “approximately 26 firearms,” including a number of pistols and long guns. This included an alleged AK-47. He also reportedly had two body armor vests.
Among the weapons, the District Attorney’s office accuses Foehner of only having registered five.
Queens Criminal Court Judge Jerry Lannece denied a request from Foehner’s attorney to release him without bail. The attorney argued that the incident was a “total aberration in his life,” adding that he called the police immediately following the incident.
The attorney described Foehner as “the victim” in the situation.
However, the judge ordered Foehner held on $50,000 cash bail.
Lannece cited “the large arsenal of weaponry found in his apartment,” stating that this was not acceptable in New York, “where there are many, way too many shootings.”
Despite the more than two dozen charges, Foehner has not been charged in relation to the shooting of the robber.
However, he faces a potential penalty of 25 years in prison for criminal possession of a firearm in the first degree among other charges.
New York is currently facing its sharpest increase in crime in nearly a generation. Last year, Gotham suffered the most felonies since the NYPD started releasing such data in 2006.
Despite a record crime surge, New York City’s annual arrest numbers have remained remarkably low. https://t.co/mJ4JO5fX4w
— City Journal (@CityJournal) May 27, 2023
The Big Apple reported 170,000 felony crimes in 2022, an increase of more than 20% from 2021.
Former NYPD supervisor Chris Hermann told the New York Post that this type of increase was “monumental” and “once in a lifetime.”
